Sony Eyes PS3 Profitability

PlayStation 3 has been out since 2006 and has sold millions and millions of units. Would you believe that Sony has been taking a loss on each of those systems sold?

We're only bringing this up because it looks like the losses are gong to disappear shortly. Sony Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda told a press conference in Tokyo today that Sony has managed to get its PS3 losses down to somewhere between 10% and 20% of the system's retail price. It expects that figure to fall into the single digits before the end of the year, then turn into a profit some time during the next fiscal year.

For Sony, a turn to profitability for the PS3 hardware will presumably be welcomed. The company's games division bled cash once again this quarter (July 1 through September 30). Operating losses for the period hit 41 billion yen, a 6 billion yen increase over the same period last year.